blissful hiker ❤︎ inspiring you to hike your own hike
Long-distance solo hiker Alison Young knows hard-core backpacking as few people do. With footprints on six continents and memories from trails like Te Araroa and the Pacific Crest, she is a member of a very small and prestigious group.
In a series of personal essays coupled with found sound and her own flute playing, this podcast explores her journey of self-discovery as a middle-aged woman, sharing the sometimes unglamorous but vital truth about empowerment, inspiring others to blaze their own trails in this journey we call life.
Episodes
143 episodes
Never Quit on a Bad Day
When everything goes sideways and you’re having a bad day, repeat the mantra to not quit today but instead give yourself the self-love, the break, the reset to get back on track.We have a saying in the hiker community,
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Season 7
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Episode 143
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9:18
Be Where Your Feet Are
Walking through woodland ephemerals in early spring reminds us to embrace impermanence and stay present in the here and now. We have a saying in the hiker community, “...
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Season 7
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Episode 142
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5:27
The Trail Will Provide
Hiking has a way of making us more resilient, not so much manifested as strength and persistence, but in developing trust and embracing the unknown.We have a saying in the hiker community,
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Season 7
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Episode 141
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6:30
TEDx excerpts: “How do you find your bliss? Take the long trail!”
On October 10, Blissful gave her first TEDx talk, “How do you find your bliss? Take the long trail!”Blissful shares the...
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Season 6
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Episode 140
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6:30
blissful TEDx speaker
WATCH TEDx On October 10, Blissful gave her first TEDx talk about Resilience as part of
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Season 6
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Episode 139
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10:46
The Grace of a Good Teacher
Taking a class this weekend, Blissful learns about the key skills of a good teacher. This was especially important ...
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Season 6
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Episode 138
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10:36
Life is Too Short to Waste on Speed
On the Teton Crest Trail in Wyoming, Blissful decides to go for an "SKT" (Slowest ...
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Season 6
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Episode 137
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9:11
Hiking While Old
On the Pyrenean Haute Route, an oafish American hiker questioned Blissful's ability to manage a route of this difficulty. “Even YOU?” he asked, his lip curling in disdain. “I haven’t seen man...
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Season 6
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Episode 136
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9:08
Don't Dream. Do.
Have you been wanting to do something a little wild and out-of-your-comfort-zone but were afraid to take the first step? When it comes to dreams, don't let them become a broken record of something you'll do "someday." In...
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Season 6
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Episode 135
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10:22
The Fear Factor
Blissful feels plenty of fear and anxiety before a thru-hike, but she manages her fears by asking, “If the worst ha...
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Season 6
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Episode 134
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6:20
Breast Cancer Trail: You're done!
Blissful is given the "all clear" by her surgeon and gets ready to step into the rest of her life. Surgery for
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Season 5
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Episode 133
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7:58
cancer thriver
Blissful takes her first hike on a trail after surgery for breast cancer and decides she prefers to be de...
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Season 5
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Episode 132
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12:32
Inhabiting the Vulnerable Space
As Blissful heals from a bilateral mastectomy due to breast cancer, she reflects on the person she ...
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Season 5
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Episode 131
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8:36
Good Luck, Bad Luck
When Blissful is diagnosed with breast cancer, she undergoes a bilateral mastectomy to save her li...
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Season 5
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Episode 130
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11:54
Breast Cancer Trail: Bye, Bye Boobs
Blissful begins her cancer journey looking back at her life as a woman. Blissfu...
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Season 5
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Episode 129
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12:54
Appalachian Trail: going home
Blissful wraps up her hike of the Appalachian Trail in Maine to head home for cancer treatment.&nbs...
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Season 5
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Episode 128
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15:30
Appalachian Trail: Magic at Moxie Bald Pond
Blissful makes it out of the 100 Mile Wilderness and receives a call from her doctor calling her home to have a bilateral mastectomy.It's wet and muddy but mostly road out t...
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Season 5
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Episode 127
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15:16
Appalachian Trail: gratitude for hiker and creature alike
The trail is hard in rain, mud and cold, but Blissful gets the boost she needs from hiker and creature. It's mountainous now in the
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Season 5
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Episode 126
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12:33
Appalachian Trail: White Cap Mountain
Blissful crosses a high, exposed peak in fog and rain then discovers she needs to go further than she thought. Hiking south on the
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Season 5
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Episode 125
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14:05
Artist-in-Residence | Porcupine Mountains Wilderness
Blissful creates an audio narrative as an Artist-in-Residence at Porcupine Mountains Wil...
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Season 5
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Episode 124
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11:37
Appalachian Trail: A River Runs Through It
Blissful makes her first dangerous ford over a swollen and dangerous river in flood from the non-stop rain. For a SOBO – or southbounder – on the
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Season 5
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Episode 123
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12:29
Appalachian Trail: you're only passing through
When seeing two Pileated Woodpecker parents up close, Blissful learns that she is only passing through and to savor the moment while it lasts. It's an easy enoug...
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Season 5
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Episode 122
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12:11
Appalachian Trail: do the next right thing
In constant rain and cold, Blissful learns the power in facing her negative feelings and using them to spur her to action rather than resignation. The trail has ...
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Season 5
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Episode 121
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12:17